DUBLIN-BASED FOREIGN CURRENCY exchange service CurrencyFair has received a €10 million funding boost – and plans to double its workforce as it ramps up expansion.
The fin-tech company plans to hire at least 50 staff this year and has handled nearly €2 billion in transfers since its launch.
The latest funding came from UK-based Octopus Investments and existing investors Frontline Ventures, and follows on from about €3.5 million the company raised in previous rounds.
It uses a “money matching” model to trade foreign countries with customers who either set their own rates for peer-to-peer transfers, or use CurrencyFair’s fixed exchange rates.
The company says its average fee on transfers currently stood at 0.35% – compared to between 2% and 5% from banks, credit-card companies and PayPal.
CurrencyFair chief executive and co-founder Brett Meyers said its rates on transfers of over £2,000 (€2,788) were “virtually unbeatable” and were often lower than the interbank exchange rate – which was the price institutional traders charged one another.
It has already increased its workforce from about seven staff to 50 in the space of two years and now operates offices in Meyers’ native Australia, as well as the UK and Poland.
Meyers previously told TheJournal.ie the company wasn’t turning a profit – but it could if its management weren’t focussed on rapid growth.
The funding announcement comes in the same week as Irish-founded chip designer Movidius revealed it received an investment of $40 million, one of the biggest for any European tech firm in recent years. It plans to add 100 jobs to its local operations as part of its expansion.
First published 10.46am
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